Magic and Daggers (V2)
by CainLionheart
Summary: Doing the impossible isn't something new for Harry Potter. Going back in time he hopes to change history for the better, hopefully he wont muck it up to badly. Cant say for sure with that Potter luck of his. (M rating as a precaution)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Revamped Wahahahahahahahahahahaha! Im back and in charge {Swiftly gets kicked off his high horse}**

 **Ouch! Ouch! Sooooorry, guy cant even have a small ego boost anymore. Well everyone, both new and old, I welcome you to "Magic and Daggers" two-point-oh.**

 **{Jurassic Park music plays as doors open} Wait! Wrong Door guys, Wrong door!**

 **{Raptors poke out of the door} Oh shit, Oh shit, Oh shit!? Uh, see you all later, enjoy the first redone chapter.**

 **{Runs for his life as Raptors give a screech and starts the hunt for the poor quirky human}**

 _ **Chapter 1: Nothing to Lose**_

 **Deep Inside Gringotts, 2005**

Dark and alone, a cloaked individual was pacing back and forth within the confines of the room. Fifteen minutes pass before the sound of a screeching door could be heard. The lone occupant of the room turned towards the noise and behind the giant metal door, a young man with a torch appeared. Within a second of seeing the young man, the cloaked individual lifted their arm with a knife at the ready.

The man with the torch froze halfway in. The stream of light had spread out in the room, showing nothing but rocks and rags. The only noticeable thing about the room was the door in the far back that had a red gleam to it due to the lights glow hitting the rubies embedded in the wood. The man holding the torchlight had blonde hair that was slicked back, and his pale skin shone with the contrast of the black clothes he wore.

"Potter, it's just me. Has the hero himself finally snapped, pulling a knife at every stranger he sees?" The snort coming from the cloaked individual reverberated around the room.

"You know it doesn't work like that, Malfoy", the man replied, his voice was dry and raspy.

"Oh come off it Potter, you seriously can't tell it's me? I don't have time for your games."

Malfoy took one step towards the man in the room and in an instant the small blade held by the cloaked person disappeared only to reappear embedded in the wall right next to the now-stunned blonde's face.

"That was a warning, Malfoy, one more step and I WILL end you."

Malfoy wasn't stupid, deciding now wasn't the time to have his fun. "All right, all right, ask away, 'Oh Demented One'" Okay, so he couldn't fully stop his fun.

"Through our time together we had always hated each other, what changed our opinion of each other and allowed us to see eye to eye?" Malfoy had to grit his teeth in annoyance, he always tried to forget that day. It was probably the best security question to ask between them. Something really bad had to of happen for him to ask such a painful question.

"When I needed help, you came" That was all that was going to be said about THAT day.

The mystery man took his hood off to show a mane of black hair that seemed out of control and eyes a deep shade of emerald. His only show of an apology for the question was a small bow of the head. Draco nodded his head in return, showing he accepted the silent apology, and finally moved from his spot in the doorway. Using all of his weight, he pushed the door shut with loud squeaks till the end. He walked over to Harry and sat down on the floor. A minute passed, then two before Malfoy broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Since you stay down here the least you can do is oil that damn door, it's a nuisance to open and close".

Harry walked away to a corner of the room where a giant pile of rags laid. Moving them aside revealed a crate, opening it he lifted out two loaves of bread. Turning around, he tossed one to Draco. "The door alerts me when someone tries coming in. It's big so they have to put effort into it and the screeching can't be silenced by magic because the resistance the door has to magic."

Draco finished his loaf promptly and looked around the room again before directing on Harry who was now leaning against a wall. "I never got to ask, but where are Granger and Weasley? I've hardly ever seen them away from you besides on missions."

The instant he asked that question Draco noticed Harry go rigid. His eyes shaded and radiated a poisonous green. The magical vibes he was giving off were so dominant that one would testify they were seeing a mirage of clear waves encircle him. When Harry spoke his voice was laced with hatred. "How about we start with why you were late? You were supposed to be here almost two hours ago!"

Draco had to hold back the urge to retreat, as when Potter got this mad it was best not to agitate an already angry beast. "The Minister called me up to his office and asked, more like interrogated, me how much longer it will take to track you. Honestly, I think I'm about to compromise my position so I should stay away from you for a while or walk away from the ministry for good." Potter breathed, his muscles relaxing. A sign that he accepted the excuse.

Harry closed his eyes as he contemplated the years on the run and the deceits that ran with it. After the war, he and Ginny did a double wedding with Hermione and Ron, then went to Hogwarts for their 7th year; mostly to stop Hermione's persistent nagging. "We have to finish our education!", she'd say. Jobs were given to each of us right when we graduated; Ginny became a chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, Hermione's love for knowledge and books drove her to teach at Hogwarts, and Ron followed him into the Auror department. A year or two later it looked like everything was going great; oh how wrong he was.

The hardcore purebloods along with Fudge, the re-elected minister of magic, framed him with the conspiracy to take over the magical world and came up with some sham proof which, to most, would be seen as nothing more than a hoax. In that lies the problem, the wizards and witches in Britain were nothing more than mindless sheep; so when Harry was branded a world-class villain worse than Voldemort, most of Britain wanted him dead. Thank Merlin for common sense though, while Britain accepted him a monster, the remainder of the world considered otherwise. When things got difficult Harry fled from country to country to evade arrest; Russia, India, France, even America. But as he was running everything was getting out of hand.

Britain, being a single power against every other country, did some dark things to try and take his life. Werewolves, vampires, giants, and other labeled dark creatures were drawn in to strengthen their power. Wizards turned to dark rituals from blood to soul sacrificing. To put it bluntly, things were very, very, dark in Britain. So being the good Samaritan Harry was, he went back to attempt and set things right.

Nothing went right. Just like the war with Voldemort, people were dying, but at a much swifter pace. Four years pass by, and Britain had slain most of the world's inhabitants. The people on Harry's side had diminished to nothing, making a rising impossible. The focus then was just to survive but now it would appear that was going to be reaped from him as well, Harry lamented, feeling the hopelessness take over.

Draco watched the entire time Harry was reflecting on the past, gazing at the wall but without genuine focus. His curiosity grew until Draco couldn't hold it anymore. "What happened?".

Harry turned to look into his eyes and Draco knew right their that the situation must be disastrous. He had never seen Harry appear so ragged, gray, and completely spent. His eyes were dim and clouded, his body slackened on the ground, an emptiness that showed that Harry had any hope.

In a tone devoid of any emotion he spoke, "Ron, he was the mole we were attempting to locate". Draco couldn't comprehend it, he had many opinions of the red-headed weasel, but this exceeded it all. He shook his head. 'Potter had to be cursed with all the bad luck he has'.

Harry rigidly got up and proceeded towards the crate getting himself another loaf all the while still speaking. "He killed Hermione when he told her everything in a belief she would join him in turning me in, that explains why her research trip appeared to have taken longer than it ought."

Draco couldn't endure listening to Harry talk anymore. His voice was emotionless, no vigor or interest. When Harry Potter resigns, it was time to hang up the cloak. "How long do we have 'till they come?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm genuinely shocked you had come by yourself. I guess they didn't arrest you to add salt to the wound that they knew you were our spy," he told Draco. The stillness was all that occupied the vault for what felt like hours. Suddenly, laughter could be overheard resounding in the small vault. Harry glanced and saw Draco on his back, laughing, his face gradually staining itself with tears. Ordinarily, he would taunt Draco with how he was acting but he couldn't blame him. The circumstances were so grave one just couldn't help but chuckle at it all . . . . .

. . . . . and chuckle Harry did.

If all was lost, then he figured there was no danger to be concerned with in trying. Harry got up with an enthusiasm that was previously foreign and went to the end of the vault to the ruby encrusted door, and as he felt it with his right hand, the door opened. Looking at Draco he gave a grin that could only be described as defiant, "So you going to stay on that cold floor crying like a pubescent witch, or attempt an impossible miracle?"

Draco was dumbfounded. He didn't know what had happened but in an instant, he went from mimicking a walking corpse to strutting with his Potter arrogance. Harry Potter was back in the game. Getting up and dusting himself off, he thought that if there was anyone acting like a witch it was the hero with mood swings. "What 'impossible miracle' would this be?"

Harry went through the open door, down a cobblestone corridor, with Draco trailing behind, "Time travel".

Draco was quickly growing sick of these shocks. His heart could only take so much. "That's not possible".

The single reply was a name, expressed with such friendliness and pride "Hermione".

"Of course she figured it out, only the know-it-all Granger could pull something like this off."

While talking, Draco was looking around the thin hall they were going down. He had never been in here before, Harry solely brought Hermione and Ron in with him. Now witnessing it there would appear nothing was all that exceptional about it, that was until they advanced into the chamber. The walls were constructed with gemstones. Each side had their own color; red, blue, yellow, and green. Upon seeing the white marble floor was the Hogwarts symbol, embedded in with gold shimmering brilliantly like water.

He saw ledgers and documents scattered over the entire place, but what grabbed his attention the greatest was the rocks in a circular design within the center of the room. The stones possessed symbols engraved on them, which Draco could only guess would be runes. Done looking around, he believed it was time to get to business.

"What is it you need me to do, Potter?"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: The Emotional Return**_

 **Hogwarts Gryffindor House, October 30, 1994**

Harry Potter's morning was not going so well. Falling out of bed while simultaneously spilling the glass of water, that he at some point must have set on his nightstand, on himself and being blinded by the morning sun that blazed brightly in his face was not the way to start a day. His roommates might have considered it hilarious but he didn't.

Once he was got to the bathroom, he peered into the image reflected in the mirror. Not aware of how long he stood there he slowly touching his own face, he couldn't believe how young he looked. His hair was as untidy as before, but he noticed the absence of grey hairs and brittleness to them, the face was not creased with stress, and his trademark scar was no longer healed but instead scabbed and red. The only thing that he could recognize was the eyes, sure they were the same green eyes that a few witches got lost in, but to Harry, all he could see was the constant bloodshed, screams, and loss.

Looking into his own eyes he all of a sudden could hear an explosion go off, he sees a group of teens running away towards him screaming. He reaches forward hoping to get them in time but his hand meets a mirror, and through sheer impact of his false hope to save them this time, it breaks. Feeling the pain of minor cuts he is instantly brought back. It took him a moment to understand that what he saw was not real and with an extreme sensation of anger and regret he wanted to shout, he wanted to scream, but he kept it in. The solitary expression he didn't hold back was the tears, gently moving down his face, dripping in the sink that he holds onto with a tight grip.

If this is was his reaction to himself Harry wasn't sure he was ready to be wandering around the school, he was thankful that his roommates had left him to this mornings misfortune. With a few well-practiced deep breaths he put himself into action, the mirror was fixed, his body washed, and his mind cleared. Harry was ready to face the day . . . . hopefully.

Walking back into the fourth year dorms he thought of the benefits and negatives of time travel he discovered while showering. On one side there is the benefit of knowing what is coming and correcting many mistakes and deaths, the other side of the galleon though he had a minor problem with, well, ummmmm, his body. Not to say Harry was insecure about his body, he is quite happy not having all those scars, but all that hard work to get physically fit all gone, never to be seen again.

Just face it, he was very insecure about his body. To Harry, it was nothing but skin and bones, scrawny and depressing looking. That was another thing realized too, going back into a teenager means dealing with hormones AAAAAAAALL over again, riveting isn't it? Back on topic, as he was washing, mourning his older badass body, he found out some scars from the school days weren't there. His left shoulder no longer had the large white gash of a scar from when he, very stupidly, out flew a Hungarian Horntail, nor did he have the 'I Must Not Tell Lies' engraved in is the right hand. Kind of hard to forget those scars.

The lack of two such scars narrowed the choices for what year it is. Obviously, it was not the seventh year, sixth was out due to the lack a hand-carved scar. As for the fifth year, since he hadn't fought the Horntail yet, it wasn't a choice either. That left first through the fourth year, and for his height, he would have to say he was either in the third or fourth year.

The final piece of evidence he needed to figure out what year he was in appeared when he began changing into more comfortable clothes. As he was putting on his winter gloves, to hide the cuts, he saw in his unfocused vision the bedpost and nightstand of one Ronald Bilius Weasley. The first idea that came instantly was to grab the sickening rat, Peter Pettigrew, but a glance proved to be useless, he wasn't there. 'Guess I'm in the fourth year'.

That thought gave him pause, should he be happy that he was in the fourth year? He had very few good memories of that year, add the fact he had one of the most traumatizing moments that left him deeply scarred emotionally, it is no surprise that he hesitated to be back. The thought that he could stop it though was a pepper-up potion in itself and began to feel warm and, dare he say, joyful.

Those feeling crashed and burned immediately as he overheard snoring, one that was all too familiar to him. All that was needed was a slight turning of the head to the right and saw the THING causing the racket. Harry's feet were soft, unheard as he inched closer with each silent step. Time froze as he stood over Ron, not sure what to do. It felt like a weight of unparalleled heaviness was all over his body, the universe holding its breath waiting for a choice to be made.

Harry was standing, literally, an arm's length away but was hesitant what to do about it. There should be no question what to do! Right here, in this bed sleeping away without a damn care, was a man who betrayed him, the rebels, everyone. He killed his own wife! HE! KILLED! HERMIONE! The rage was building, it could be felt all over his body, poised to strike, but as his fingers were about to touch Ron's throat the joints locked, body unable to move.

It was a small voice, like a sound brought with the wind. It whispered in defense of the red-head, how wrong this was. To convict a child, A CHILD, for the crimes of a man that has yet to be made. Yes, mistakes were made, many mistakes, but wasn't that the whole point for being here, to fix those mistakes and save those that were condemned and tortured in the future. This could be another saved, a changed destiny from a traitor to a savior, one who would be willing to give then horde on what he gets instead.

The opinions in his mind fought in a sea of emotions, both tidal waves neither giving up on what needs to be done. One sway left, ,'He will never change.' Another sway right, 'Nothing is written in stone.' Back again, 'He had his chance.' Again another, 'And this time he can be helped.' Harry wasn't sure how much his body can take from the see-saw of feelings he was getting.

'It's for the greater good' was hissed.

 _Where the house flags normally stood there were black flags with the Hogwarts crest on them, all the students were seated in the Great Hall mourning for the loss of Cedric Diggory. _A man, though old, stood tall as he speaks and observed the mass of children with such a sorrowful grandfather face you'd think the students were all his grandchildren. Staring at him, his lips were moving but nothing was heard 'till finally, Dumbledore's _voice broke the melancholy of his mind, "Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good and kind and brave because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort".___

Harry flinches back from Ron and his bed, a bead of cold sweat could be felt running down the top of his head. His body shivers as he realized what he was about to do, not that he didn't think the bastard deserved it, but because that was his first reaction to a problem. Calming himself he rationalized that he just found out about the Weasels treachery not a full twenty-four hours ago. The wound was still fresh in his mind so of course, finishing the perpetrator would be the common reaction, just as anyone else would.

Sighing under his breath, Harry begins to walk away. Just as he passes the other side of Ron's bed he notices an opportunity that couldn't be helped, 'Nothing wrong with a little vindictiveness'. Quidditch reflexes and a tip of a bedsheet later, Ron came tumbling out of the bed, mimicking a fish out of the water.

"Huh?! Wha . . . what the bloody hell is going on?" Confused at first, Ron finally got his barring to look around the room to the lone occupant other than himself. "Why'd you ruddy do that Harry, I was having the most wonderful dream. It was about Krum, I was riding a broom with him and -"

"Roooon I don't want to hear your poofer dream! Breakfast is happening soon I reckon, wouldn't want to miss it now would we?" Never in Harry's life did it hurt his face to make a smile or strain his voice to sound playful. Ron seemed offended by such a thought of missing breakfast, "Well couldn't you of, I don't know, shake me awake like a normal person?"

"And couldn't you, I don't know, wake yourself up? Ron, we are fourteen for Merlin's sake. If you can't get yourself out of bed how will you pass all the way up to the seventh year?" Though angry and still out for blood with him, Harry couldn't help but feel exasperated with Ron. Is this what we were like all those years back?

"Come off it Harry, that's like three years away or something, we have time. Right now we should worry about the food being gone if we don't get there soon." Without a glance back, or down, or around even, Ron got up, sheet and all, and started heading towards the bathroom. Again Harry asks himself if they were really like this at fourteen?

Heading out of the room and down the stairs, he made his way out of the Gryffindor Common Room, making his destination the Great Hall. As Harry made his way through the maze of moving stairs he thought upon the interaction between himself and Ron. Though he was angry for being woke up in such a crude manner, as anyone would, there was none of his jealousy and spiteful tone. What he got from all that was two friends bickering and joking all at the same time. 'Guess my name hasn't come out yet' was all Harry felt, sure it was a bit nice seeing Ron not be a total git but not enough to forge together a broken friendship, at least on his end anyway.

Making it to the bottom step, he shakes his head clear and proceeds to head through the hallway, 'Get your head in the game Potter'. He had more important things to worry about than a failed friendship. He came back to save people, he came back to change the future, and he will do anything to achieve it . . . . anything.

* * *

 _Looking around there was nothing but . . . . nothing. Around Harry was white, up, down, left, right, all white. There didn't even seem to be a sense of gravity either, he wasn't sure if he was standing or floating. It felt like there was something he was stepping on but at the same time, his body seemed lighter than a feather._

 _An unprecedented amount of time passes, could have been minutes or hours, possibly days. The room was getting to Harry, the constant floating feeling was making him both relaxed and tired, while the space of everything white was making him nauseated and extremely disoriented. Just as he was feeling the pull of sleep for what must have been the hundredth time, he felt the room shift._

 _A cold breeze, though perceived as small, had enveloped him suddenly with a chill that reached the bones in his body. Far off in the direction where the breeze came from Harry saw a black dot. Quickly it was becoming more than a dot, a ball, then the size of a dragon's egg. Bigger and bigger the color black was getting 'till it was finally identified as some black smoke, it had to be more than smoke for it was far denser and darker than any he has ever encountered in his life._

 _The black smoke-like mass stopped just short of fifteen feet and was roughly ten times the size of Grawp, Hagrid's half-brother. It just waited there, not moving from its current position. If not for the smokey appearance Harry would have thought it stopped moving altogether, but just as his curiosity was getting to him and leaned towards it, it spoke._

 _"Well, well, well, what do we have here Mr. Potter? Attempting time travel, haven't you been warned before about the dangers of tampering with time?" The voice was neither masculine or feminine, the only distinct trait Harry got from the voice was delivering fear. The type of fear beyond one's anguish or turmoil, when your surrounded by enemies, or when you are taking your last breath before dying. This fear neither asked or demanded respect for it already knew it was felt. It was all Harry could do to nod his head, let alone speak for himself._

 _The black smog laughed, freezing what little air Harry had in his lungs. Bending, twisting, turning, and swirling was being done in front of his eyes as it was finally taking shape. When he thought it was done a billowing cloak stood in front with a hood silhouetted at the top. There was no doubt what or who that was, but more confirmation was giving as the back of the cloak broke with two skeleton wings stretched itself out, boney skinless hands grabbing the handle of the scythe that materialized from nowhere._

 _"Do you know who I am Mr. Potter"_

 _Of course, he knew who that was. Death. Harry tried to answer him but no air was coming out, it felt like no air was coming in either._

 _Death chuckled in sadistic amusement, "You do seem to know". What happened next would forever haunt 'Mr. Potter', Death bent down towards him, wings resting outward in the view of Harry's left and right. The face of Death appeared gradually out from his hood, and though it was not sudden it still shocked Harry. The face of Death, grinning with both a sense of joy and madness, was seared into his memory forever, never to leave him. "No one cheats me out of what's mine, you want to get passed me then you'll have to pay the toll, Mr. Potter"._

* * *

 ** _A/N: Some of your are probably wondering why I made my author note at the bottom this time instead of the top. Funny thing really, I didn't think I was. I was thinking up random things that I could do or talk about as I made my author note and then you could continue on to chapter 2. Well I didn't want to bummer anyone one out before reading this chapter, that way you could enjoy it. In all honesty I am hoping you readers see that's its an author note and go "Eh, dont need to read it". I was going to post this chapter tomorrow but as I worked on chapter 3 I had sat there at the same spot, not typing anything for two hours. So instead I chose to do this._**

 ** _Today around noon my time, my grandfather past away. I didn't find out till 5:15 when I got home off work. I am honest to say I dont know how I feel. On one hand, I helped my grandfather with work for almost a year; every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at his work, and rest of it was either to help with cows or some other crazy thing. I LITERALLY got myself a real job again yesterday, and this happens on my second day of work._**

 ** _On that same note I look at things logically. It may seem cold but no one lives forever. People will spend millions just to add another year, another month, or even to just hope for a miracle. All the same though there is a single fact of life, everything that exists must eventually die. Some of you might feel like that sounds familiar, and it is because its a little something I brought up in my first versioned story. Its a cold hard truth that some dont want to think about and yet it will always be around to remind us. I chose not to ignore this fact, and I guess you could say that's how I cope possibly. Whether it is or not doesn't really matter, its what happens after that does. The death of a family member or a loved one can destroy some people, and to others it would make them stronger._**

 ** _Im not sure where I am going with this, I am just typing what I am thinking at the moment. I am choosing not to read what I previously wrote to make these statements more real. An emotion is not edited so why should I go back and change my thought or rephrase it because it would make it sound better, or to make the whole thing flow and make sense. So if this whole author note is confusing I do apologize, consider this whole author note a therapeutic moment for me._**

 ** _I do wonder some times what other people do when they hear a family member die? Is it like the movies and they drop, or fall into a chair and try to deny what they heard? Is there a right way or a normal way to react to such news? My mother was the one who told me, and my first reaction wasn't sorrow for his death, and I didn't cry either; Instead I felt sorry for my mother, for she was the one who had to call it. She was the one who had to make the final decision whether to keep going or not, and to anyone who thinks that she should of kept going or found a way, my answer is your all ignorent fools._**

 ** _As her son I can very well tell you she is not the easiest person to get along with, hell she knows it. I guarantee you though that I consider her one of the smartest people in the world, and no she isn't a PhD in physics, she isn't an Einstein, and she isn't one of those mad scientists. She knows her limitations though, in all my life I can, with full faith, say that she has only been wrong twice, and it was for stupid shit like got the wrong day for our neighbors little girls birthday party. She never says something without researching it first and has full confidence in it. My mother works in the medical field and has corrected and put doctors in their place. So if she says there was nothing else that could be done, then it couldn't be done._**

 ** _ ** _Back to my original thought, I felt sorry for her because my mother had to make the final decision for her father. All of you ask yourself, could you make the call on one of your parents and wonder if you made the right call? That if you wait a little bit longer they could stabilize or the doctors figured out a way? There will always be that doubt and though I know my mother is strong, I also believe that will never leave her._**_**

 ** _ ** _ ** _ ** _I think this author note has gotten a bit long for my taste so I will end it on two notes:_**_**_**_**

 ** _ ** _ ** _ ** _1) Ive heard that a book reflects the writer, if that is true I hope that something in my story will make you think and view things differently, and with it you grow just a little bit more and a little bit wiser._**_**_**_**

 ** _ ** _ ** _ ** _2) Everyone hears the statement "No one knows when its their time", and dont worry I am not going to lecture about how 'you should be with your family more' or 'if you dont you will regret it'. Instead I want you to think about it and make your own decisions. If you had a parent or sibling dying what would you be thinking? I am assuming you love them and wanted to spend more time with them. And if we follow that road you might think of all the times you had with them. As you got older I am sure you spent less and less time with them or called them less, maybe miss a few family dinners and such, just like any normal person. All of that, there is nothing wrong with that, but at that moment when your family member or loved one is with you, would you ask yourself, could have there been more time? A call from home asking if youd like to come to dinner, but you flake because you got that new game you wanted to play, or maybe there is a boy or girl you like that you could hang with, or even just wanted a chill day to yourself. All of that seems normal now, but later it would seem like petty time you could spent with them. ** _ ** _ ** _ ** _Im not saying dont do things for yourself, hover over the family. But when you get in a fight with them and decide to stay mad and hold that grudge, is something so petty worth that time you could sit with them just enjoying each others company. Getting angry is ok, but who has the time or energy to stay mad for a whole day, week, month? ** _ ** _ ** _ ** _ ** _ ** _ ** _ ** _Balance it all, if you feel like your with your family too much, that's ok. Feel like you dont, well maybe you should do something then. You make the decision because at the end of the day its you who it will fall on years from now._**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Heeeeey Everyone! So last chapters Author Note was a bit of a bum {Sags the shoulders} and ill admit it has been a crummy week altogether.**

 ** **But do not fear, I am slowly getting back to my ridiculous self. Its getting late and I am extremely tired so I am going to cut this short.****

 ** **Just to let you all know, I plan on only adding a chapter on Saturdays. There might not be a chapter every Saturday but I will publish on Saturdays, even if its really late. Like this one. its 11:57 so it still counts as Saturday.****

 ** ** ** **Night everyone and enjoy the revamped chapter 3.********

 _ **Chapter 3: Balance Gained and Caught Flat-Footed**_

 **Hogwarts Mess Hall, October 30**

Finally making his way through the castle Harry made it to the Great Hall, stepping in he had to stop and regain his breath. The Hall was huge, enchanted with a continuous changing ceiling, with more than enough room to find a table to sit at. The tables were lined up in four elongated rows, segregated the student to their assigned house.

The far right was Harry's house, Gryffindor, and overhead was the red flag brandishing their house symbol, the lion. At the tables where some of the people he shared many school memories with, it seemed like a dream to him seeing all of them together having fun. There in the middle was the twins, Fred and George, chatting together scheming up Merlin knows what for their next prank. One could never survive without the other, they were Gred and Feorge, and when Fred died, there was nothing left of George.

 _"George! No!" Ron yells as he tries to fight the grip of Harry's and Hermione's grasp._

Not too far from the chaotic twins were the triple tag team of Quidditch, Alicia, Angelina, and Katie. Almost always together, some were sure them being attached to the hip was what made them the best Chasers anyone could ask for. They could anticipate what the other was planning without looking or even seeing each other. Their friendship was their most significant asset, but ultimately it became their downfall too.

 _On a street, as trivial as any other, there was debris of what appeared to be a burnt building. In a corner, three bodies laid huddled together, charred black. "I heard from Davis that Katie got stuck somehow. Alicia and Angelina ran to save her" Harry stared, trying to cope with losing the three women he considered as older sisters._

The Creevey brothers were at the far end of the Great Hall, probably discussing him. No longer fourteen and insecure about everything, Harry considers the two brother's antics was enduring. Seamus was near the brothers, yet again trying to turn water into rum with the goblet of the poor bloke next to him. The strange obsession to succeed at that never changed and was always a good sense of entertainment.

 _"You know, in a sick way, he would've wanted to go out like that" Ron said, taking another shot of alcohol. Harry couldn't help but let a bitter laugh escape his lips, "Your telling me. Hell of a way to go, and I'm sure Dennis is grinning his face off. I swear Seamus was a bad influence." Mumbles of agreement could be heard all around the room. Raising a shot glass, Harry yelled loud enough to be heard by all "To Seamus and Collin, two crazy mother fuckers who gave it all for the cause, and took a tenth of Britain with them." Cheers and laughter were then heard. Everyone knew the happiness was a lie, but just for this moment, they let themselves believe in it._

"Hey Mate, you alright?"

Harry jumped, surprised, as he felt a hand pat his shoulder. Behind him was Ron, looking genuinely concerned.

 _Ron just looked at Harry with venom, pissed that he couldn't succeed at killing him. Watching Harry get up the redhead began his retreat to the nearest exit 'till he heard a panting voice speak, "How long?"_

He shook off Ron's hand, turning from him and the Great Hall. "I'm fine Ron" was out of Harry's mouth without thinking.

"No your not Harry, you don't look well" Ron started walking towards him but was stopped by Harry quickly moving away.

"Look Ron, I-, I just need some time to clear my head. I'll be fine, go eat."

Harry then stepped out of the Great Hall and continued through the front door of Hogwarts, greeted with a scent of nature. Outside was a tad nippy without his coat, but with thick clothes and gloves, he felt he could manage.

His stroll down was physically uneventful, but mentally and emotionally, he was in turmoil. He hardly registered the Beauxbaton carriage or the Durmstrang ship on his way to his spot, that was dubbed his 'brooding corner' during the seventh year. It was a cozy little spot under a tree, it had a good view of the lake, not far off was the forbidden forest, and if he felt the need to walk outside of Hogwarts grounds, then he had a short way to the Whomping Willow, where he could roam around the Shrieking Shack.

Sitting down, stretching his legs, Harry took a deep breath. This is what he needed, solitude. Right now there is no Hogwarts, no war, to time travel, no problems; just him and nature. The chilled wind kissed his cheeks, the wave of the lake was a lullaby to his ears, and the beautiful site of wildlife eating away peacefully.

"Harry"

 _"Harry"_

"Harry"

 _"Harry"_

Registering that the voice was actually calling him, and not a figment, he peered over the side, "Over here." What soon came into vision was a bushy mess of curled hair.

 _"You know Harry, with all that goes on here, I sometimes wonder why you decided to come back to this hell-hole. You could have stayed hidden, you could have had a small sense of peace." Hermione's voice begins to quiver "Every time though, you come back. When you already gave so much, you continue to help. Dragging yourself across the battlefield that you don't have to be in. It drives me mad trying to understand why. I can't think of anything that would make me, willingly, come here." Harry could hear the occasional hiccup by his side. "Harry, why did you come back?"_

Harry flinched, feeling a hand touch his cheek. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"And what you makes you think something is wrong?"

The sigh from her was the universal female way of saying 'Booooys.' "For starters, your deliberately choosing not to look at me. Another, you had tears go down your face-" At this time her talking, Harry wiped the tears with the sleeve of his shirt "- and finally, Ron even noticed. We both know he couldn't read a person's emotions even if we gave him a cheat sheet."

A small smile snuck on his face, Harry even gave a chuckle. Looking back to the right his emerald eyes met her chocolate eyes. They had such a life to them. Her face was no longer weighed down from weeks or months of sleepless nights. He also noticed the emotion in her voice, neither dead nor monotoned. He just had to look away.

"How'd you know that I was out here?"

He heard some movement, then a body made its way next to him. Failing to get a good space next to him, Harry tried to shift a bit to make room. A minute of awkward moving and apologized, the seating arrangement was now Hermione laying back on the tree with Harry in front of her, feeling very self-conscious at the moment. "There we go. Well, I was reading up on an exotic charm when Ron came up to me and told me something had happened to you, and that I should do something about it. He said something about 'Guys don't talk about feelings' or some such nonsense." The eye-roll was easily felt without looking, "Seeing you though, I can understand why he's worried."

Harry had the urge to speak up, tell her what happened, what's going on with him right now, and then ask for help. Just as he was about to though, he realized that this Hermione was fifteen, not twenty-six. He couldn't burden her, drag her into the abyss once more. Hermione deserves a better life for all that she did in his future.

"Hermione . . . . I'll be fine. I just have a lot going on in my head right now."

Arms were being wrapped around his body, Harry was pulled back slowly till his back was touching Hermione. "Wha- Hermione, what are you doing?" Heat rushed to his face, thankfully she couldn't see.

Ignoring him for the moment, he could feel her moving under him until she got into a more comfortable position. "Harry, you know you can tell us anything. We are friends aren't we?"

"Of course we are Hermione,-" Harry chose not to point out he meant her and not both her and Ron, "- I just want to think it through before talking about it. I can hardly tell you when I am still figuring it out myself."

"Oh? Am I really talking to Harry? The same Harry who charged towards an enemy without any fighting experience in the first year, or how about writing in a responding diary in the second year, and let's not forget all of last years antics." She was filled with entertainment, talking about some of his, less thought out, plans.

"Alright, alright, you made your point 'Mione. Consider this as my first step in trying to be mature." Seriously, was he that bad at fourteen?

"I'm just poking fun at you Harry, but I'm glad to hear that. Can't wait to see what this 'mature' Harry looks like." He could still tell she was poking fun at him, but he couldn't bring himself even to feign a scowl; instead, he laughed. It was short, but it was a real pure laugh.

Harry began to relax in her arms, leaning more into her, looking out at the lake. The peaceful moment was ruined as he saw the area around him turn into brimstone and fire, thankfully it flickered away just as fast as it came.

"Hermione, is it alright if we stay like this for a bit?"

"No problem Harry."

With those words, he let his whole body relax. Closing his eyes, he breathed in and out, in and out. Feeling himself getting pulled inward, the last thing that caught his attention was the scent of parchment.

* * *

 **Mindscape, October 30**

Up in the black sky, there was an everchanging aurora of stars, bright enough to aluminate the whole area as though it was daylight. Far off, surrounding him in every direction, there was every imaginable terrain possible. In the middle of all of this fantasy land was a ginormous circular meadow with a cottage on top of a small hill, which had a winding road going down from the door to where he stood. Strolling on the path Harry noticed that the area held plants from every region of the world.

Reaching the cottage, there was a chimney puffing smoke. The door was wooden and standard to an average everyday building. The knob was turned, and Harry walked into the cozy abode, it had a window on the left, next to the door, showing a beautiful view outside. As usual, there was a fireplace taking up a majority of the left wall, in front of it a dark blue chair that was just the right size for him. A cocktail table was set at its side, with a cup of tea that was steaming with warmth.

What was different, which was blindly obvious, was how every inch of the walls was covered in moving pictures. None of the memories had any real pattern, some of the childhood, others of the war and even memories of Hogwarts were scattered about in the thrall of photographs.

Harry sighed at the site, his head was literally a mess. The door closed behind him, the chair was soon sat in. The cup was in his hand, and Harry inhaled the scent of mint and fruit before taking a sip, the flavor of fresh mint and raspberry, oddly enough there was a hint of peaches too. Harry smacked his lips and looked at the cup, he didn't recall thinking up peaches in his tea. 'One problem at a time.'

The cup was set down back on its spot, and another look was taken of the room, everything from the pictures to the view outside the window. The room was silent one second then it became enveloped in an avalanche of noise, every moving picture was making sound with the appropriate memory. Through the jumble of chattering, laughing, yelling, and Merlin knows what else, Harry just sat in his chair with his eyes now closed. He was soaking it all in; the laughter with his friends, the pain in losing Serius, the anger in his own incompetence. Harry didn't shy away from any of it; instead, he embraced all those feelings and accepted them.

Just as the room was becoming deafening, Harry spoke, "Enough." It was said with such softness it was almost a whisper, but the room became silent. Opening his eyes, Harry saw all the pictures gone. It should come as no surprise since this was his mind. Here he was in control, with abilities comparable to a god, and yet he was unable to stop himself as well.

During his journey on the run, Harry had taken it upon himself to learn a few things. One of those things was Occlumency. He wished he knew how bloody useful it was all those years ago, but then again it's not like learning potions or charms. Occlumency was comparable to learning French from a German who can't speak English, and you don't know German. Harry didn't really know how far he has gotten with the branch of magic, but whatever he has gotten was good enough for him.

He could do a lot with his current ability. Memory was able to be clear, as though it just happened if he focused on what was desired. Those teenage outbursts would never have occurred with the help of Occlumency. This very space that Harry was lounging in, sipping tea, was all due to the mind magic. It was a gift that keeps on giving, and he was sure there was more to be discovered.

Such an incredible skill was not without cost though, it was not only hard to learn but dangerous as well. Occlumency strains the mind metaphorically reshaping it, or at least Harry hoped it was. If one treads without prudence, they could wind up losing memories or getting lost in their own mind. Funny how none of this was mentioned when taking lessons with Snape, at least it worked out without any real damage, hopefully.

Harry felt a change in the room and with his senses quickly found it. Under the cup of tea was a piece of parchment, and picking it up to look at he saw chicken scratch written on it.

A Well Needed Plan!

Its simple, prevent the wars from happening and then worry about everything else later. One step at a time, It's not complicated.

Harry gave a chuckle at the note, his subconscious apparently had a sassy side. He guessed there was some truth to it, worrying about everything wasn't going to get the job done. Focus on the task, that is why he came back after all. Getting up from his chair Harry takes one last look before closing his eyes, feeling a push on his body.

* * *

 **Hogwarts Great Lake, October 30**

Opening his eyes, Harry saw the sun going down towards the west. Dinner was probably going to start soon, 'Missed lunch, damn mindscape.' With all its uses he really didn't like how erratic the time flowed between reality and his mind. If he were to guess, he was in his mindscape for about thirty minutes maximum, but in actuality, he was out for about roughly seven to eight hours, a full days sleep. It could happen again but be five minutes in reality instead, there was no consistency.

Arching his back to get his knots out, Harry's shoulders pressed into two distinctly soft mounds. His outstretched hands had also dived into some kind of disorderly mass of softness, and finally, he heard a feminine eep behind him. Stopping at the sound, he slowly raised his head and saw a very red-cheeked, wide-eyed, Hermione who was flush with embarrassment. Then situation finally clicked in Harry's head, and his blood went cold; his hands were deep in her hair, and his shoulders were pressed hard against her-

-Harry wasn't sure what happened, but there could have been apparation involved with how fast he was standing. Looking at Hermione he knew his face was just as red as hers, and his mouth was about to make it worse. "That was uhhhhhhh, I didn't mean, well, errrrr, sorry for getting all in your hair and you know, ummmmm, squishing your breasts, CHEST, yeah your chest, not to say I'm calling you flat, cuz' you're definitely not, I wasn't looking at them, not to say your not attractive, and you know a guy can't help but take notice when he feels them. . . ." He puts a hand over his face in mortification "Merlin. . . . Hermione please just put me out of my misery and hang me off the astronomy tower."

While Harry was digging himself in a hole Hermione was looking away from him, slightly shaking, but when he asked for his own execution, she couldn't hold it in any longer. Hermione fell on her side and loudly laughed face red with either embarrassment or laughter, there was a good chance it was both. It was so loud that Harry saw other students outside look around, trying to spot where the noise was coming from.

"For crying out loud Hermione, it's not that funny."

Hermione was finally able to calm her self, but the occasional giggle would escape. "Not funny? Harry you've faces some of the most dangerous creatures in magical history and yet the second you 'feel' me up you become a blubbering mess." Though she was amused, she still showed some heat grow on her face when mentioning his comment on her chest. "Besides Harry, it's not like you purposely copped a feel. Can you even really call it a feel when it was on your shoulders?"

This whole conversation was getting them redder and redder the entire time, even with the teasing tone to it. "Hermione, can we pleeease just let this go? I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Alright, I'll give you a break. Just this one time, since we are friends."

With a relieved, exhale of breath Harry helped Hermione up, "Not friends Hermione, best friends."

He seriously couldn't believe he reacted like that, 'damn hormones.' Waiting for her to dust herself off, they both then started heading up to the castle in a comfortable silence. Before reaching the doors, Ron was heading in their direction. Harry watched him come closer and felt no sense of boiling rage, the mistrust was still there, but the anger was gone, and thankfully the flashbacks too.

Ron stopped in front of them and caught his breath before looking between the two. "Sooooooo everything good?" He was looking quite uncomfortable with the question, which made the other two amused. Worse had yet to come, for when they all started walking back, Hermione begun to have some fun with words.

"We are good Ron, all Harry needed was to get things off the 'chest'. I guess a 'guy can't help but take notice' on what he 'feels'."

Harry was again beat red and giving Hermione a look that spoke of revenge. Ron again looked between the two of them, "Ummm did something happen while I -"

Harry cut him off before finishing, "Ron, do you remember how we agreed to forget about what happened in the forest second year?"

Ron gulped, probably remembering the spiders "Yeah."

He gave the red-head a glance that said to drop everything, and so Ron raised his hand to his mouth and gave the zipping motion. All three look at each other, there was a still silence and then laughter. Oh, how Harry missed this, three friends enjoying the day. The only worries being homework, tests, and social image.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione started to, again, move towards the castle, albeit a prolonged one. The silence was quickly broken by Ron, "So Harry, got any ideas about whose name will come out tomorrow?"

"Come on Ron, how can I figure that out when they arrived just today?"

Hermione looked confused, "Harry, they've been here for about five days."

Harry stopped, 'what, how can that be?'. If it were from Ron, he'd think it was a joke or that he wasn't thinking straight, but from Hermione, he had to take it seriously. Quickly playing it off he began to laugh and scratch the back of his head, "Really? Time seems to fly without me noticing".

Moving along again, they finally make it inside and head into the Great Hall with Harry having no mental traumas, mostly due to focusing solely at where he wanted to sit. Just because he no longer had any reactions to Ron or Hermione didn't mean it still couldn't happen and he wasn't going to take any risks. Sitting down he grabbed a loaf of bread and a chicken leg.

Before taking a bite, he saw the look Ron was giving him. "Alright Ron, I get it, you want to know." Putting down his chicken leg Harry began to feign looking around and after a minute gave his attention back to the two, "Durmstrang will obviously be Krum, I don't think their headmaster let anyone else put their name in. For Beauxbaton there are a few choices, but I would put my gallon on the one that all the other girls seem to dislike."

Both Ron and Hermione looked over their shoulder to look at the French girls at the Ravenclaw table. "Who? I don't see anyone like that?" He was looking up and down, left and right, but he was looking rather foolish. Hermione on the other hand only looked around for a few seconds before turning back at Harry, "The platinum blonde with the french braid?"

Harry nodded at Hermione's correct assessment, Ron, on the other hand, was still confused. "How did you figure that out?"

Harry took pity on the boy, "Not many would notice, from what I guess not many boys would. All the girls have shifted slightly away from just one girl, and if you sit and watch you will notice not a single girl wants to talk to her, just guys. If it's like this here, think about what it would be like in an all-girls school. I am sure she has had to learn a lot really quickly just to make sure a jealous classmate didn't take her by surprise."

Hermione gave him an appraisal look while Ron was clueless as hell, not to be deterred he continued on. "Glad you have an opinion on the other schools but I wanted to know about who you think will represent Hogwarts?"

Silently both Hermione and Harry were impressed that he knew the word 'represent' and used it in a sentence correctly. Choosing to answer after he took a few bites of food, Harry sinks his teeth into the chicken leg, and suddenly he had the urge to vomit. He coughed down the mouthful before taking a drink of water. The bread was no better, it had a taste of ash to it. The feeling to eat dinner had officially gone on vacation, and looking at the plates of his two companions, he noticed that Ron had at least two bones on his plate, and even Hermione had at least eaten one small chicken leg.

Getting up from the bench, the other two followed suit, all three headed out of the Great Hall and in mental agreement, made their way to Gryffindor Common Room. "Ron, the Tri-Wizard Tournament is about more than just our school-" Ron just gave a condescending look "-But if I were to give a guess, there is a good chance that Diggery's name will get called out."

"DIGGERY?! You think that pretty boy Puffer will get chosen?" The Weasly temper was starting, thankfully in its mild stage.

"And what exactly is wrong with a Hufflepuff being a Hogwarts Champion?" Harry's own temper was beginning to rise, he couldn't believe Ron was so biased against any house but Gryffindor. He could understand Slytherin, there was a lot of evil people in Slytherin.

"Nothing, if you want Hogwarts to lose. Everyone knows to win you need a Gryffindor to be chosen." Ron snapped back.

Hermione, quick to pick up the emotions of the two boys she's been friends with for four years, chose to intervene. "Ron, Harry is right. The Tournament isn't about one school or who gets to gloat, it's about helping relations with the schools."

Making it to the Fat Lady a quick word from Hermione, "Stalwart," and the painting moved aside for all three to go in. The room was filled with the usual crowd, just sitting around, or last-minute homework do-ers. All those peoples peace was interrupted by the Weasley temper, which was at boiling point, "Whatever, what do you two know." With that, he stormed up at to his room, where a loud slam was heard.

Harry sighed as you looked towards the stairwell if he wanted to help him there was a lot of work to be done. Hermione came up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry about it Harry, we both know how he gets when we don't agree with him."

Putting his hand on hers Harry looks at her, "I know Hermione, but how long will we have to eggshell around him? We are fourteen, by this point, we can harm or help people. I just worry about the future."

Hermione gave a sad smile, then removed her hand to cover the yawn that came from her mouth. "Well Harry, unlike you, I didn't sleep that much today, so I'm going to bed."

"Night 'Mione"

"Night Harry"

She made her way up the stairs when Harry began to realize something. "Hermione." She stopped at a step and looked back, "What did you do while I was sleeping?"

"Oh, you know, just this and that." With that said, she rushed the rest of the stairs up to, what is assumed, her dorm room. Harry just looked up the stairs thinking about what she said but then gave up, realizing he would probably never figure out what that could mean. Turning around he looked at the people in the Common Room, who all then awkwardly continued what they were doing, trying to not make it evident that they were ease dropping.

Making his way to his room, Harry got undressed. The shoes and socks came off first since they were hurting. 'First thing I will do at Hogsmead is getting new shoes,' he had the money so why not get himself some decent things. After that, the shirt and pants came off and into the dirty pile in his trunk. Harry moved the bed curtain and the top sheet from his bed and got in. The bed was cold and comfortable to his skin, closing the curtain on his bed and he was surrounded by the darkness. It was oddly soothing to be engulfed in the dark.

As Harry was closing his eyes, he remembered Ron mentioning the fact that the names for the Tri-Wizard Tournament were coming out tomorrow.

'. . . . . . SHIT?!'

Why can't he get a break, all he wanted was a good night rest in his comfortable bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN!**

 **Hey everyone, sorry that I didn't post a chapter last week but this chapter took a strange turn, and by strange turn I mean totally different. Those of you who read my previous attempt at this story you would see that this chapter 4 is nothing like the previous one.**

 **Actually I was on my toes the whole time with this chapter because I literally had no clue what was going to happen. That might sound confusing to all of you. I never did explain how I do some things with this story.**

 **Well you seeeeeeeee, some of the things that happen in the story aren't in my control. I leave it up to a coin or die toss. If any of you know DnD then you sorta get what I mean. Anyways, as much as I would like to explain further it might spoil the chapter so I will explain further in the next chapter.**

 **Now on with the show . . . .**

 **On with the show . . . .**

 **Ooooooon with the shooooooow . . . .**

 **Seriously people, you can't follow one simple ins-**

 **{Theatre curtains fall}**

 _ **Chapter 4: Morning of Halloween**_

 **Hogwarts Common Room, October 31**

Seven in the morning Harry stretched his arms and moved his bed curtain getting out of bed rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His mission to stop his name coming out of the goblet probably failed. Harry waited till three in the morning before giving up and going back to bed. He was sure if Barty Crouch Jr. didn't come by then there was a good chance the deed was done already. 'Damn'

With a groggy head, Harry made his way to the showers, which were quite empty due to it being a Saturday. The only reason why he was awake was from the habit of sleeping very few hours and waking up early in the morning. Turning on the water, he made sure it was freezing, making Harry's whole body alert in a short time.

After the cold shock he gave himself, he went back to his dorm room and put his school clothes and cloak on. 'Note to self, again, buy me some nice clothes.' It was a weekend for crying out loud, and all he had to wear was his uniform. Harry might not be vain or fashionable, but he'd be damned before he allowed himself to be subjected to wearing the same thing over and over and over again for the next three years, the hand-me-downs from the Dursley's were at best meant to be used as fuel for a fire.

Letting his roommates sleep the day away, Harry made sure to not make that much noise as he left the room. What came as a surprise to him, though it shouldn't have, was when he went down the stairs, instead of finding an empty Common Room, there sitting at a table with a few books spread across the table with parchment was Hermione.

Finding time to kill he thought he would enjoy his time with her, but before that, he wanted to have some fun. Moving around out of her sight Harry did his best to not make a sound while sneaking up behind her and after a few times thinking it wasn't going to happen, Harry finally made it behind her without getting caught.

"Hows my early bird?"

The reaction was instantaneous. Hermione jumped so high in surprise the table actually got knocked forward and the chair she was sitting on falling back. Harry honestly didn't see that coming, his idea of getting a small jump from her ended up with her giving a quick scream, a knocked down table and chair, with books, papers, and ink spread all over the floor. 'Oops.'

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione was peeved beyond belief, and Harry was sure it was because of embarrassment. "What exactly do you think you are doing?"

"Ummmmmmm, having fun?" Harry moved his hand through his hair, he guessed what he did was a bit much. "Sorry 'Mione, I didn't mean to freak you out that badly. I thought you would just give a small jump, I swear."

Hermione kept her eyes narrowed at him for about another minute before taking a deep breath and began picking the chair up. Thinking it would be best for his own safety, Harry started to help clean up the mess he inadvertently caused. As soon it was mostly cleaned up, minus the ink stains, he took a seat across from her. She, on the other hand, was still annoyed so choose to ignore Harry and began working again.

"Oh come on, your not still mad are you?"

Stopping her writing, Hermione, again, gave him a glare. "Of course not, why would I be mad that your prank ruined two of my essays and spilled a months worth of ink."

Harry had the decency to flinch, " Ok, ok, I will admit that the timing was bad. It wasn't really a prank though, just a friendly scare. You know I wouldn't go as far as what Fred or George would do." He stopped to give a thoughtful pose, "Well, I wouldn't stoop to their level towards you. A few Slytherins, probably."

Hermione rolled her eyed but then gave a small smile, " I know Harry, just don't do it again while I'm writing, deal?"

"Deal, I guess I should have gone with a good morning instead."

Harry head Hermione snort at his statement, but then moved her papers to the side and gave her full attention to him. "Well I was surprised that anyone was up, everyone is usually asleep on Saturday. Including you."

He heard the unasked question and shrugged in response. "Like I told you yesterday, I guess I am trying to be a bit more mature. Sleeping in does sound nice, but every Saturday feels like a waste." He could see the shock in Hermione's eyes. Chuckling Harry started picking up some of her books and stood up from the table, "Since there are no classes today and meals don't end till three, want to go to the library for a bit?" The delightful surprise in her eyes, like a child on Christmas, brought a soft smile to his face. Harry knew today was going to end badly, just like every other Halloween, but knowing that he just made Hermione's day, made it a little bit more bearable to him.

* * *

Lunch, or brunch for the late risers, was in full swing when Harry and Hermione walked into the Great Hall. Hermione tapped Harry and pointed out where Ron was. They were finally noticed by the red-head when they sat across from him.

"Where have you two been?" Ron asked, with some food in his mouth.

"Ron, chew before speaking. Harry and I went to the library this morning while you were sleeping in." Hermione chirped while grabbing a sandwich and an apple. At the same time, Harry grabbed two sandwiches, a bowl of grapes, and a few of the scotch eggs left over from breakfast; He was famished.

"Right, library. Next, you'll tell me you were helping Harry with his Divination homework too." The sarcasm that Ron gave would have flooded the whole room if it was visible.

"And what is that supposed to mean Ronald?" Hermione said back with annoyance. Harry looked between Ron and Hermione, feeling as though he was missing something.

"Nothing, but if you didn't want to tell me what you two were doing, you could have at least gave a believable reason." Ron shot back with a fake nonchalant attitude. This conversation was feeling more like a tennis match to Harry with how much he was moving his head left and right.

"Believable?! Why would you not believe that Harry and I were in the library?"

Ron looked offended like she was questioning his intelligence, which Hermione probably was. "Harry, willingly, go to the library? Please, the only one who likes the library is you, Book Worm."

Hermione visibly flinched at the name, which made Harry get off the sidelines of the conversation. "Ron, if you are done being an arse, you could see the bag full of books beside the both us." Harry knew that calling him an arse wasn't going to defuse the situation but he long learned that the only way to stop a Weasley temper from rising was to agree with them. He wasn't about to agree with Ron on this.

Ron saw the bags but, as Harry predicted, wasn't going to admit he was wrong. Instead, he decided to invest further into whatever delusion he had. "Like you actually like to read Harry, though I can see why you would like to keep it a secret. I mean who would admit it when it's Hermione." At this point Ron was red, and his voice became spiteful, Harry had to actually focus not reliving a memory.

Hermione herself was just about as red as Ron, but while he was angry, her face showed pure fury, making Harry shiver, and her voice gave a tremble trying to contain her rage. "Ronald Bilius Weasley, you loathsome troll. I can't believe you would insinuate that."

Harry was looking very confused, still reeling from Ron thinking he didn't like to read. Hermione seemed to already pick up on what Ron's delusion was, but Harry was still a few steps behind.

"Oh I'm sorry, next time I'll just ask if you're helping Harry with his homework in a broom closet," Ron said back acidly, loud enough for about half the hall to hear.

Harry blinked. Blinked again. By the time it clicked in his mind that Ron thought He and Hermione were making out somewhere, Harry saw Hermione get up and walk fast paced out the Great Hall. Sighing loudly he gave the idiot a small glare, "Ron, I will only say this once. You have done a lot of stupid stuff over the years, and I am positive it will keep happening in the future, but I think this will be one of the biggest fuck ups in your life." Before he let Ron speak, Harry got up and grabbed both his and her bag of books, then left the Great Hall, his plate of food untouched.

He was hungry as hell, but Hermione was more significant than some food.

* * *

It took some time for Harry to find Hermione. He dropped off the bags of books in his trunk in the dorms, which allowed him to get the Marauders Map. Using that he saw her outside, and following the map further when out of the castle he found her at his 'brooding corner.' Putting the map away Harry made the final steps to Hermione.

His heart broke seeing her. Hermione had basically curled into herself, having her arms around her legs and head in them. All that you could see was a cloak with bushy brown hair that was failing to cry silently. Harry walked up to her, making sure not to be quite as to avoid an episode like early this morning, and just like she did to him the day before, sat behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Though Hermione acted no different, she didn't push him away, and to Harry's limited knowledge of girls, he considered that as a good thing.

After some time Hermione stopped crying, but she didn't move from her curled position. Though it was muffled, Harry was able to hear her talk. "You know what hurts the most?"

Harry had to think about this, should he go with the earnest answer or funny one? He decided to go the safe route, "That he paired you up with a skinny boned guy like me?"

"Take this seriously Harry."

As Harry was about to make another comment, she raised her head and looked back at him. The words died in his mouth as he saw her bloodshot eyes and the tear stains on her cheeks. Pulling her closer to him in his arms, Harry gave real thought to her question. Replaying the whole scenario from the Great Hall, he thought he might know what she means. "Ron made it sound like being with you would be a great shame?"

Hermione gave a bitter laugh, "Exactly! You heard him-" and making an awful imitation of Ron "-Though I can see why you would like to keep it a secret. I mean who would admit it when it's Hermione." Hearing it again, even from herself, tears began to fall down her face. "Am I that terrible? Am I really that unattractive for having uncontrollable hair, being a know-it-all, having buck teeth, or born as a mudblo-"

"Enough Hermione!" Harry was going to end her self-loathing. He never thought there would be a day that he would hear her describe herself with that filthy word. His Hermione might have had insecurities, but in the end, she was always happy being herself. If he had to remind her then that was what Harry was going to do. "We both know you're not that terrible or un-una-unattractive," damn hormones making him stutter and blush, "Ron was just acting like a, if I recall your words correctly, loathsome troll."

Hermione, though still sniffing, physically relaxed in Harry's arms. "I still have all those problems though."

Harry rolled his own eyes at her statement, 'I wonder if this is how girls feel when the guys try to deny having emotions.' "Hermione, there is nothing wrong with you. We all have things we don't like about ourselves or others. Seamus is a walking explosion, Dean sees women as conquests, Nevil is more skittish than a young unicorn, Lavender had a full belief in Trelawney's predictions, and I have the body of a chicken-" the last statement got a chuckle out of Hermione. "- but at the same time, Seamus knows his potions and helps Nevil when he can, Dean still has a kind heart, Nevil is as loyal as they come when you dig it out of him, Lavender will always listen to your problems as long as your a girl, and me . . . "

Harry felt Hermione wrap her arms around his and saw her looking out towards the lake, "Your amazing Harry, you can never turn away when others are in trouble-"

"Without you, I would have mucked it up badly-"

"You don't have a chicken bone body, its called having lean muscles-

"Your not a know-it-all, you're intelligent which is amazing-"

Hermione huffed at Harry then, "Well your socially awkward-"

"Your personality fits your hair-"

"Was that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?"

"And if you bite your lower lip with those 'buck teeth' I'm sure not a single guy would complain."

Hermione at this point dived her head back into her legs "Haaaaaaarry!" Harry gave a loud laugh, which made him lower his head into her back to muffle it a bit. "I can't believe you just said that."

Neither could he actually, but honestly, he couldn't care. "Feeling better now 'Mione?"

Hermione stilled in his arms before she slowly untangled herself from Harry's and went towards the lake. She reached its shores and just stared out, giving off a vibe of melancholy. Confused, Harry followed her and stood next to her. "Everything ok, did I say something wrong?"

"Did you mean what you said?"

Warning flags rang in his head, and Harry had a massive urge to walk away from this conversation. When he ignored that feeling and began to answer, Harry almost chose to go with funny or to brush the whole thing off. Instead, he gave an honest answer. "Of course Hermione, why wouldn't I."

She turned to look at him, a bit red in the face but also confused. "Harry, I know boys are slow, but even you must have realized what you said. I mean you called me attractive and those other things and-"

Harry understanding what she means, a rare moment in his book, stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Hermione, so I think you're attractive. That doesn't mean I'm asking you to be my girlfriend or to come with me to the nearest broom closet. I think half of the girls at Hogwarts are attractive in some fashion, of course, I think some girls are more attractive than others too. I am also sure you think more than one guy is attractive too. We are barely teenagers Hermione, it's not like we are going to choose our other half in an instant."

Throughout his speech she kept an eye on him, having her full undivided attention. Seeing that she was waiting for him to continue, he continued on. "I will admit things are weird at some point being friends with the opposite sex has it'll probably get worse as we get older. Ron is a perfect example of that, he thinks your attractive too you but because of jealousy, and whatever else goes on with that idiot's head, he lashed out." Harry stopped than slapped his face, "I'm not explaining this very well am I?"

Hermione finally gave a genuine smile and chuckled, "No but you're lucky we've been friends for so long that I understand boy talk."

"Thank Merlin, because I had no clue what I was saying." With that over, they gave each other a deep hug, resting there heads against each other. "No matter what 'Mione, just know that I will always have your back, just like how I know you will still have mine." She gave a small nod, and after a minute in comfortable silence they let go of each other and started heading back up towards the castle.

"You know Harry, even though this day has had its ups and downs I dare say I've been given one of the best ego boosts any girl could ask for."

Harry gave your a raised eye-brow before finally giving in, "Alright, I'll bite. How has today given you an ego boost?"

When they reached the doors to the castle, she looked at him with a mischevious smile, "Well it's not every day a girl hears that her two friends think she is attractive." With those words out of her mouth, she turns back forward and with confidence in her step, yelled back to Harry. "Well come on Harry, we didn't check those books out of the library just for them to collect dust, and I would like to at least start reading one before tonight."

Harry snorted at her behavior, but thinking it could be much worse, he just shook his head and followed her with his hands in his pockets and a content smile on his face.


End file.
